Macbeth Act I: Vieni! T’affretta!... Or tutti sorgete
(Oct. 11, 2014)

Star soprano Anna Netrebko created a sensation with her riveting performance as the malevolent Lady Macbeth, the central character in Verdi’s retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy. She is joined by Željko Lučić, who brings dramatic intensity and vocal authority to the title role of the honest general driven to murder and deceit by his ambitious wife. ...

Falstaff Act III: Tutto nel mondo è burla
(Dec. 14, 2013)

Composer: Giuseppe VerdiLibrettist: Arrigo Boito

Levine; Meade, Oropesa, Blythe, Vassallo, Maestri

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Music Director James Levine conducts his first new Met production after a two-year absence: Robert Carsen’s hit staging of Verdi’s great human comedy. Ambrogio Maestri is an ideal Falstaff, leading an extraordinary ensemble cast of veteran and up-and-coming Met stars, including Angela Meade (Alice), Stephanie Blythe (Mistress Quickly), Franco Vasal...

Carmen Act IV: Viva! La course est belle
(Jan. 16, 2010)

Composer: Georges BizetLibrettist: Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy

Nézet-Séguin; Frittoli, Garanča, Alagna, Tahu Rhodes

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet

Richard Eyre’s stunning new production of Bizet’s opera was the talk of the town when it was unveiled on New Year’s Eve 2009. Elīna Garanča leads the cast as the iconic gypsy of the title—a woman desired by every man but determined to remain true to herself. Roberto Alagna is Don José, the soldier who falls under her spell and sacrifices everything...

Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili gives a dynamic performance as Bizet’s iconic gypsy, the woman who lives by her own rules. Aleksandrs Antonenko is Don José, the soldier who falls under her spell, and Ildar Abdrazakov plays Escamillo, the swaggering bullfighter who takes Carmen away from Don José—an action that seals Carmen’s tragic fate...

La Cenerentola
(May. 10, 2014)

Composer: Gioachino RossiniLibrettist: Jacopo Ferretti

Luisi; DiDonato, Flórez, Corbelli, Spagnoli

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 52 min.

Rossini’s charming take on the Cinderella story features a brilliant cast, led by bel canto stars Joyce DiDonato in the title role and Juan Diego Flórez as her Prince Charming. Alessandro Corbelli delivers a comic tour de force as Don Magnifico, Cinderella’s stepfather. Pietro Spagnoli is Dandini, the Prince’s valet, who, disguised as his master, p...

Macbeth
(Oct. 11, 2014)

Star soprano Anna Netrebko created a sensation with her riveting performance as the malevolent Lady Macbeth, the central character in Verdi’s retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy. She is joined by Željko Lučić, who brings dramatic intensity and vocal authority to the title role of the honest general driven to murder and deceit by his ambitious wife. ...

Le Nozze di Figaro
(Oct. 18, 2014)

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus MozartLibrettist: Lorenzo da Ponte

Levine; Majeski, Petersen, Leonard, Mattei, Abdrazakov

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Approximate running time: 3 hrs. 18 min.

Richard Eyre’s elegant production, which opened the Met’s 2014–15 season, sets the action of Mozart’s timeless social comedy in a manor house in 1930s Seville. Ildar Abdrazakov leads the cast as the resourceful Figaro set on outwitting his master, the philandering Count Almaviva, played by Peter Mattei. Marlis Petersen sings Susanna, the object of ...

Classic Telecasts

Arabella
(Nov. 3, 1994)

Composer: Richard StraussLibrettist: Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Thielemann; Te Kanawa, Brendel, McLaughlin, Kuebler, McIntyre

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 49 min.

Otto Schenk’s opulent production, conducted masterfully by Christian Thielemann, provides a perfect setting for Strauss’s bittersweet comedy of true love and mistaken identity. The great Kiri Te Kanawa is radiant as Arabella, the daughter of an impoverished aristocrat who must marry a wealthy man to save her family. Wolfgang Brendel sings Mandryka,...

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
(Dec. 8, 2001)

Composer: Richard WagnerLibrettist: Richard Wagner

Levine; Mattila, Heppner, Polenzani, Morris, Allen, Pape

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Approximate running time: 4 hrs. 51 min.

Wagner’s enchanting Nürnberg has perhaps never looked as marvelous as in this production by Otto Schenk, with sets designed by Günther Schneider-Siemssen. James Levine’s conducting is as authoritative as it is affectionate, and the orchestra, the chorus, and the all-star cast which could not be equaled anywhere else in the world—respond with a rive...

La Traviata
(Mar. 28, 1981)

Composer: Giuseppe VerdiLibrettist: Francesco Maria Piave

Levine; Cotrubas, Domingo, MacNeil

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus, and Ballet

Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 9 min.

James Levine leads a remarkable cast in one of Verdi’s most enduringly popular operas and brings fresh insights to this beloved score. Ileana Cotrubas is poignant and touching as Violetta, the consumptive courtesan who finds true love with Alfredo, sung with style and passion by the great Plácido Domingo. Cornell MacNeil is Germont, Alfredo’s fathe...

Turandot
(Apr. 4, 1987)

Composer: Giacomo PucciniLibrettist: Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni

Levine; Marton, Mitchell, Domingo, Plishka

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 12 min.

Franco Zeffirelli’s sumptuous production of Puccini’s final opera has been a Met favorite ever since its 1987 premiere run, captured in this telecast. James Levine brings out all the color and drama of the composer’s most ambitious score, leading a stellar cast: Plácido Domingo is Calàf, the unknown prince, Eva Marton sings the title role of the ic...

Radio Broadcasts

Arabella
(Apr. 19, 2014)

Composer: Richard StraussLibrettist: Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Auguin; Byström, Volle, Banse, Sorenson, Winkler

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 33 min.

Swedish soprano Malin Byström delivers a radiantly lyrical performance in the title role of Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s romantic comedy. The daughter of an impoverished nobleman in 19th-century Vienna, Arabella is expected to marry well in order to rescue the family from bankruptcy. Meanwhile her sister, Zdenka (Juliane Banse), lives disguised as a ...

The Met’s world-premiere Baroque fantasy, first seen in 2011, brings together some of the greatest arias and ensembles of Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, and other composers with a new English libretto by Jeremy Sams, inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. David Daniels as the magician Prospero, Susan Graham as the sorceress ...

Idomeneo
(Dec. 9, 2006)

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus MozartLibrettist: Giambattista Varesco

Levine; Röschmann, Deshorties, Kozená, van Rensburg

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 45 min.

Met Music Director James Levine has long been a champion of Mozart’s early opera seria, and his inspired leadership brings out all the human drama and musical beauty in this rich and still underappreciated work. Kobie van Rensburg is Idomeneo, King of Crete, who has survived a storm at sea by swearing to Neptune that he will sacrifice the first per...